Oscar Pistorius Will Run in Men's 4x400 Relay as South Africa Wins Appeal

It turns out that Pistorius and South Africa are not done racing yet. According to a new report from BBC Sports, the team appealed its elimination due to Ofentse Mogawane colliding with a Kenyan runner.

"Blade runner" Oscar Pistorius to race in Friday's 4x400m final after all. South Africa through as appeal rules they were impeded in heat.

This seems like a fair decision, as South Africa never got the chance to finish its relay, so we don't know how the team would have finished. Based on history, we know this team has had success in this race recently and was a favorite to earn a medal.

The world will be able to see how Pistorius and the South African team do on Friday afternoon when they go for the gold in the 4x400-meter relay race.

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The South African relay team was forced to withdraw from the relay race due to an injury suffered in qualifying, according to BBC Sports.

GB second in first heat of 4x400m relay to reach final. Oscar Pistorius denied chance to race as South Africa withdraw in heat due to injury

It turns out that Pistorius never got the chance to run in qualifying, as the Associated Press reported (h/t USA Today) that his teammate Ofentse Mogawane crashed before he could get the baton to Pistorius.

While this is certainly not the Olympic ending Pistorius had in mind, he can take some solace in knowing that he was responsible for breaking barriers by competing in track and field at the Summer Games as a double amputee.

That won't be of much comfort to Pistorius right now, because as an athlete you want the chance to compete on the biggest stage your sport has to offer.

Looking beyond Pistorius' anguish, this is also a crushing blow for the South African team, which had legitimate medal aspirations. It finished second at the 2011 World Championships, just behind the United States.

Pistorius and South Africa will leave London wondering what could have been, which is going to be a hard pill to swallow for all four men until they are able to compete again.